February 10, 2006
What it takes to be a cell phone designer
Usability in the News has picked up on an interesting post from gotomobile on what it takes to be a cell phone designer.
"Unlike the web or mainstream design world, mobile designers cannot be simply visually or brand-oriented. It is mandatory to keep up to date on the latest technologies and handsets, maintain client and company education, and articulate the importance of authoring for one platform or another.
Mobile designs must take into account the evolution of mobile screen sizes (iilustrated left, but scaled down 50%), hard and soft keys, text input, navigation and menus.
... "As mobile devices become smaller and more compact, the amount of information they need to convey increases. The convergence of functions and constant addition of features create layers of complexity in navigation and usability of mobile user interfaces".
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